THE RYDGES POST

If you are having a traditional Christmas spread with turkey, pork etc, you should make that little effort to bring it all together with a home-made gravy. Don’t be afraid, it’s just as easy as saying Grace once a year. Probably easier. This is a simple step-by-step guide to making an excellent gravy that will work with chicken, turkey, pork and beef – and one that will be streets ahead of anything you can find in a supermarket packet or pouch.

Step One

When the roast is cooked, spoon off any excess fat from the roasting pan, keeping the juices and crunchy bits. Put the pan on the stovetop over a medium heat. Guess what – you’re a third the way there…

Step Two

Add one-and-a-half teaspoons of plain flour and stir in with a flat wooden spoon (scraping in the chunky bits) for a couple of minutes until it starts bubbling. Add half a cup of wine – white for chicken, turkey or pork and red for beef or lamb and keep stirring until it comes to the boil. Nearly finished!

Step Three

Add two cups of stock (chicken or beef or vegetable) and boil for five minutes or until it thickens. Strain through a fine sieve into a jug and serve.

Variations

Now you have the excellent gravy recipe, you can muck with it for a variety of flavours to suit particular dishes. Add diced apple for pork... add onions for sausages... add green peppercorns for steak/beef... add a tablespoon of your favourite herbs… add plum jam or cranberry sauce for turkey - with little effort you could become known as a gravy legend!

And even if you go for a packet mix, give a few minutes for one of the most moving Christmas songs of all time, How to Make Gravy by iconic Aussie storyteller, Paul Kelly.

PS - Daniel Boud took the photo of Paul Kelly and here's a link to his website.